May 10, 2012 (Los Angeles, Calif.) — Jhonnattan Castro is probably the only driver that ever prepared for a Formula Drift event by spending time at the legendary Nurburgring.

Invited to drive on the world-famous 14-mile circuit by Banco del Progresso, Castro was able to sample the track aboard an Audi R8 V-10. Having driven it previously in video games, Castro was blown away by the circuit in real life.

“It’s just crazy, it’s an unbelievable place,” said Castro. “The whole experience was great and I am really thankful that I got the chance to see this amazing track. It was raining the whole time so I was very careful, but even still it was incredible. It’s crazy to think that they still have a 24 hour race here on the Nurburging, but I think it would be really fun to try driving it in the Banco del Progresso / City Tire Online Nissan 350Z!”

With his experience on the Nurburging now behind him, Castro has his sights set on this weekend’s second round of the Formula Drift championship at Road Atlanta, near Atlanta, Georgia. The recently announced change to the Formula Drift circuit at Road Atlanta will go a ways towards leveling the playing field for Castro, who has never seen the circuit before. After a challenging first round on the Streets of Long Beach – where Castro never got a chance to learn the circuit after his Banco Progresso / City Tire Online Nissan 350Z encountered electric problems during practice – he is looking forward to a fresh start in Atlanta.

“For sure, now that everyone has to learn the new way of the track, it makes things a little easier for me,” said Castro. “To me, the new layout looks more fun, and now everyone will have to be learning the new layout which puts us all on about the same starting point. It still looks very challenging, but the City Tire guys will know how to set up for it and we will be competitive. I can’t wait to get back in the car on Thursday and see what we can do. I know there will be a lot of people back home in Santo Domingo watching us in qualifying!”

The Formula Drift event from Road Atlanta will be broadcast live on the Livestream, available at formulad.com/live. Qualifying will begin on Friday, May 11 at 6:45 PM ET, with top-32 beginning on Saturday, May 12 at 4:00 PM ET.

About Jhonnattan Castro

The first driver from the Dominican Republic to compete full time in the Formula Drift Pro Championship, Castro competes with support from Banco del Progreso, Metaldom, AutoHaus and City Tire Online. To learn more about Jhonnattan Castro, visit jcastroracing.com, and follow him on twitter (@jcastroracing)